House of the Dead: Overkill – Extended Cut refused classification in Australia

The Australian Classification Board has determined that The House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut is unsuitable for local retail.

Sega Australia has issued a statement declaring its intent to challenge the decision without cuts to the game, with managing director Darren Macbeth blaming the rating on inconsistencies in the application of Australia’s content ratings system.

“There are far worse titles currently available in the marketplace which involve more than shooting down mutants in humorous circumstances,” he wrote.

“We will do everything we can to prove that House of the Dead: Overkill is worthy of an MA15+ rating in Australia.”

Gamepron spotted the board’s decision to label the game as Refused Classification – a move which makes it illegal to vend the game within the country, and Kotaku got hold of the Classification Board’s report on the game, which puts the blame on the game’s Hardcore mode.

“The ‘Hardcore’ game mode allows players to play in a manner that exceeds strong in impact, engaging a headshot-only mode which results in frequent, detailed blood and gore as the zombies and mutants heads explode into bloody pieces that spread around the environment and onto the screen.”

The report goes on to mention the Extra Mutants Mode, and highlights one particularly concerning example of a “a baby mutant that jumps onto the screen and explodes into bloody chunks when killed.”

The original Wii version of the game, The House of The Dead: Overkill, scraped through with an MA15+ rating for “strong horror violence”.

Extended Cut is a PlayStation 3 re-release and comes equipped with 3D and Move support as well as exclusive content. It is expected to release internationally in late October.

Australia currently has no higher rating for video games than MA15+, but is currently in the process of classifications overhaul, planning to introduce an R18+ category.